Mission

The mission of The Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Ethics (IDARE) is to create a vibrant on-line cross-disciplinary, cross-institutional community of scholars whose goal is to improve the quality of ethical practice experienced by people with disabilities through research, education, and consultation.

Focus

The work of IDARE scholars focuses on the ethical aspects of services people with disabilities receive from rehabilitation, health, mental health, and social service professionals. IDARE scholars also seek to influence disability policy and practice development nationally and locally, as well as influence professional organizations to optimize consideration of ethical issues affecting people with disabilities and other marginalized populations.

The work of the IDARE focuses largely on the ethical issues experienced by people with disabilities living in the community and in transitional settings, and those involving the professionals who work with them. The work is focused on community based issues, rather than on acute medical care or traditional bioethical issues.

Goals

Our efforts in research, teaching, and consultation are devoted to excellence in:

Enhancing understanding and action focused on the unique ethical issues confronting people with disabilities and other marginalized populations.

Increasing cross-disciplinary collaborations among diverse scholars and students to advance more sophisticated and holistic exploration and understanding of ethical problems confronting people with disabilities and those who work with them.

Increasing the active involvement of the disability community in considering the ethical issues affecting them.

Improving local and national access to information about the ethical issues in disability policy and rehabilitation practice through development and dissemination of resource materials, public speaking, conferences, and educational programs.

Improving the ethical awareness and competencies of rehabilitation, health, mental health, peer helpers, and social service professionals who work with people with disabilities.

Providing useful and influential scholarship, research, and professional education in the field of applied ethics.

Providing excellence in ethics education for peer helpers, professionals in rehabilitation and helping services, researchers, educators, policy makers, community leaders, and students in the professions.